Enzyme mimics

Chemists are trying to create synthetic molecules which mimic the recognition and catalytic properties of real enzymes. One target of interest is catalysis of reactions for which there are no known natural enzymes. Inspired by the examples of nature, approaches to the design of enzyme mimics for catalysis of Diels-Alder reaction are described. The design is based on porphyrin molecular boxes and zinc co-ordination. The potential of design of enzyme mimics employing cholic acid and other systems is also discussed.